Knots, blogs, learning, and all that jazz!!!!

I'm sure I speak for the class when I say everyone will remember our first learning experience with Donovan. We were engaged in making Bowline knots, and Donovan was very committed to educating everyone until there was a room full of wonderfully tied ropes! I paid close attention to the ways he taught us this handy skill. He demonstrated making the knot for learners that learn visually, he gave us a handout for students that prefer to follow an instruction sheet, and encouraged the ones who caught on more quickly to share with peers still trying to grasp the task.

We have been learning through and with each other. Blogs are one of the most interesting and effective learning experiences I've had thus far in post-secondary education. I have often written papers or my position on things I am learning about in class only to have it viewed by one set of eyes. There have been times when I have said to myself 'I wish more people could read this'. I have shared writings with family or friends, but it's different when you are sharing it with people who are involved in the course readings, lectures, and discussions. It’s a good feeling to know that the hard work I put into my Blogs will be viewed by many people. And unlike a paper that is passed in and then returned with a grade, this social media experience allows readers to access the blogs over and over again. I have really enjoyed sharing my thoughts and learning with our community of practice. The blogs compliment our small group and/or class discussions as we have been referring to our peer's blog posts when engaged in conversations. During our last class we negotiated meaning to come up with collective definitions of the combined learning ideals from Tomasello, Wenger, and Bracher. Through our mutual engagement we discussed the readings and individual blogs to assist with definition negotiation.



At this point I would like to share a brief description of my Practicum and Project courses that I just completed as part of the Lifelong Learning graduate degree requirements. For both of these courses I decided to use my background in the Arts to illustrate lifelong learning. For those of you that missed my Academic Poster Presentation a couple of weeks ago, I’ll give a quick account of my Practicum experience. I facilitated a workshop at a local organization called reachAbility for people with disabilities. I utilized theatre skills to enhance self-confidence and develop job interview skills. Research shows that people with disabilities have lower self-esteem and are unemployed more than people without disabilities. Therefore adult education with goals such as increasing confidence and becoming more employable are beneficial for people with disabilities. For my project paper I focused on the impact that the Arts have on adult education. I’m a true believer in the multiple learning that occurs through arts-based education.



What am I trying to say here? That everyone learns differently, and that creativity in education teaches more than the intended skills of the Arts domain. I believe that Donovan started our learning off with “how to tie a Bowline knot” for many reasons other than just to teach us this skill. First of all, he must have wanted us to explore the ways we learn. After all, Lifelong Learning Processes is about ‘learning how we learn’ from different perspectives. This rope exercise is also a way for Donovan to share a part of his identity with us in a creative way. From now on, every person I meet that possess a strong interest for sailing, I will remember that I had a professor that was passionate about the same thing, and that he taught me a valuable skill for this recreational hobby. I’m sure another objective for teaching us to tie a Bowline was to have the class engage in an icebreaker activity. Chlup & Collins (2010) suggest that icebreakers are an effective tool for adult learners in that they “help group members get acquainted and begin conversations, relieve inhibitions or tensions between people... brings humor into the class, establishes rapport, fosters a safe learning environment, and overall assists with content learning” (p. 34).                                                                                                                                                       



From a personal perspective, I owe a lot of credit to my background experiences in theatre and dance. The skills I have developed far surpass the immediate goal of acting and dancing techniques, and span across multiple areas of my intellectual, social, and emotional learning. What I have learned through the Arts has shaped my identity, increased my academic success, and developed my social skills. Memorizing lines for a 2-hour production makes studying for exams a breeze, performing in front of large crowds is a major confidence booster, and reciting monologues on stage is great practice for public speaking skills. My love and respect for the benefits that the Arts have on learning is something that I hope others will explore by trying to integrate the Arts into teaching practices for adult learners.

References

Bracher, M. (2006). Radical pedagogy: Identity, generativity, and social transformation. New York:
            Palgrave Macmillian.

Chlup, D. T., & Collins, T. E. (2010). Breaking the ice: Using icebreakers and re-energizers with
            adult learners. Adult Learning, 21(3-4), 34-39. Retrieved from ERIC database.

Tomasello, M. (1999). The cultural origins of human cognition. Cambridge Mass.: Harvard
            University Press.

Wenger, E. (1999). Communities of practice: Learning, meaning, and identity (1st ed.). New York:
            Cambridge University Press.

Lifelong learning - identity, education and the future

The words we use to describe ourselves or others are significant in terms of identity "The identity register with the most evident impact on learning is the linguistic" (Bracher, 2006, p. 17). As I consider lifelong learning and how it relates to my sense of identity, I can't stop thinking about formal institutions and the context that it fosters in my identity development. (I am a student) I started valuing education in university. In my high school years I always knew I wanted to go to university but wasn't sure exactly what I would study. But one thing was clear, and that was 'I wanted a degree!' Obtaining a degree was part of my status identity. I felt I needed it to feel accomplished. Achieving higher education reinforces how I feel about myself, and how I want to appear in the world. Adult education has a clear connection with obtaining better employment, and I want a career! (I am a hard worker)
What can formal institutions do to our identities? Well for one thing grades create labels, which thus reflect students' identities. I can touch on this notion by using an example that I talked about in class a few weeks ago during a small group discussion. Discussion arose about schooling, what is being taught, and what learning is actually taking place. I mentioned a recent conversation I had with my 16 year old niece concerning her efforts in obtaining her first part time job. (I am an aunt) She expressed her frustration as she had put out numerous resumes to fast food and retail shops to gain after-school employment. I explained to her that sometimes it takes a little while to hear back from companies, and I was giving her pointers on things to say during an interview. For instance, I mentioned that she can say she's a fast learner. My niece replied by stating that she is not a fast learner as she struggles with school. I explained to her that she is a very quick learner for practical things that are applicable to the real world. I gave the example of her blackberry, and how she knew how to do everything on it within a few hours, and how I'm working on my third degree and don't know how to use her phone or do other things on computers that she can! (I am not good at technology) I explained to her that although I went to university to become an elementary teacher, doesn't mean I believe in everything that the system "claims" is education. (I am a teacher) Reiterating facts to pass a test that you will only forget in 2 weeks is not real learning to me. Real learning is about skills, experiences, and having a role in negotiating meaning - the things that stay with you. If I have an excellent memory and pass an exam, but then you ask me the same questions a month later and I don't have a clue, was that real learning? This conversation helped her confidence, whereas the public education system has done just the opposite and made her feel less smarter than others due to the identity that is associated with certain letter grades (C's or B's).
Is the Education vehicle changing its identity? I saw a segment on TV the other day about the end of the era for the written encyclopedia 'Britannica'. With online versions such as wikipedia, people are meeting their encyclopedia needs through this channel. What does this say about our value for printed text? What does this mean for the identity of such objects?? Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that internet-based knowledge is not a positive gain. It just seems that people think having immediate access to knowledge right at the click of a button is becoming a mainstream identity marker. What happened to the novelty of searching for information via written text? People in society are in a rush for information. We are disassociating with human contact by avoiding social situations to interact with one another. We have replaced this with social media networks such as facebook and twitter in which notifications from these online gatherings are instantly accessible through cell phones. Although Britannica's knowledge production has been shifted from print to computerized text, some education is proving to be a positive extension from online access. For example, students are making progress in Mathematics through free online teaching sites such as Khan Academy http://www.khanacademy.org/. This website was created by Salman Khan, and is a non-profit company with over 3000 video tutorials. Khan first started making these online math sessions to help his 7th grade cousin with her Math. It has grown internationally and Bill Gates has remarked on how successful the teaching methods are as he uses Kahn's videos for his own children. Khan Academy wants to transform how classroom teaching tackles Mathematics. I believe this an excellent tool to assist students with concepts they may not be grasping from teachers or text books. But is this pushing us a step closer to the end of classroom teaching? In the future, will our schools meet the same fate as the Britannica encyclopedia? 

References:

Bracher, M. (2006). Radical pedagogy: Identity, generativity, and social transformation. New York:
      Palgrave Macmillan.